The Meaning Behind The "Look At Me" Music Video by XXXTENTACION
- Jordan Bayne
- Mar 14, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 15, 2019
Born Jahseh "Jah" Onfroy, XXXTentacion was always known for his controversial life, lyrics and imagery. X had a violent upbringing, getting into fights and being in and out of juvenile detention centres for his whole childhood. But with all this negativity and darkness surrounding him, I believe that gave Jah insight into what it means to be good and how one should act to propel the effects of positivity in our communities.
Being the creative genius that he is, X chose to use his most renowned song, Look At Me (full video also at the bottom of this article), as click-bait for a platform to visually and verbally convey a message, a message he thought didn't have a voice of it's own in modern society. I believe that message is the dismissal of the underlying, toxic, near endless cycle of hate and oppression which seems to be carried along from generation-to-generation. I know you may think that is a very broad statement, because it is... that's the point. It seems as though there are so many ways older generations are able oppress the youth, so much so it is a praxis that is studied through age. In this piece of media, the argument manages to touch on so many topics all whilst staying true to it's core value, saving the youth.
The message is conveyed into 3 ideas in the video
1: What needs to happen now to aid the end of this cycle.
2: Hate and oppression in today's society.
3: What will happen to future generations if this is not resolved.
So, uh... What needs to happen now to get the ball rolling for a peaceful future?
I know what you're thinking, and no, you don't need to overthrow your teacher and stand on the furniture in your classroom, as the symbols in the above image may suggest.
Lets make a quick list of the denotative attributes that are present in the first scene:
A white male trying to control a diverse group teens, who are seemingly not interested in listening to him
a small group of black males wearing all black clothing storm into the room surrounding the older white male
Once the small group has surrounded the white male, the other individuals in the room proceed to join in.
Young individuals holding and throwing around a world globe to each other, while an older white male lays unconscious between them.
Now, what could this possibly mean? I viewed this clip for some time trying to understand what Jahseh was attempting to convey, other than the obvious signifiers (Ferdinand), and then it hit me! I believe the signified (Ferdinand) meaning of this scene is a visual representation of the power a dissenting voice can have to the greater population when they are heard in the public sphere (Thwaites, Davis, & Mules, 2002, p.159). I view it as though the older white male in business attire is an icon depicted as the dominant ideology or the "ruling class"(Thwaites, Davis, & Mules, 2002, p.158), and the diverse group of young beings are the greater population. I then speculate that the small group of black males are representing the dissenting voice which is the oppression felt through the Black Lives Matter Movement. It articulates that once the dissenting voice is heard and the greater population can see it has authority, they get behind the movement and also stand up for what they think to be right and just.
There is an exceptional amount of detail in this short 30 second scene which could be interpreted in a multitude of ways. For instance the chain that X is wearing around his neck, it has a tail, almost lead-like extension which goes down the front of his chest. This could be an indexical representation of slavery and how he has broken his chain, therefore televising that he is a free person.
What is happening in the present day?
The above image is the opening visual for the second scene, now relate that to the message above, pretty bold statement right? But again... that's the point. Although the physical image of black males hanging by the neck from a tree may be a slightly abstract in today's era, it's not entirely false. The confrontational aspect of this is impacting and extremely thought provoking, in fact it's the mental contest you have with yourself when viewing the entire scene which sparks debate and realisation, that this is a truth in modern society. As far as the Denotative and Connotative meanings go, they're all pretty straight forward. Onfroy's putting violence, specifically racial violence, into the spotlight, with a signified (Ferdinand) concept that it is everywhere in the present day, particularly in America. What really engulfed my mind was the symbolic pieces of text that X had placed in the video. I knew these texts must have had importance to the signified in some way, but only through further research did I come to understand the truth of his Symbols. the list consists of names and events of crimes which have previously occurred in history.
The List Includes
Let's go a little further into this...
Emmett Till
White-on-Black
beaten, gouged, shot and thrown in a river
No Conviction
Rodney King
White-on-Black
Beaten on the ground by 4 police officers (caught on tape)
Sparked LA Riots
No Conviction
Philando Castile
White-on-Black
Shot in front seat of his car by officer who pulled him over (caught on tape)
Girlfriend and daughter present in the car
No Conviction
Ferguson Riots
Sparked from shooting of Michael Brown
White-on-Black
Approached by officer for jay walking, shot twice in the head
No Conviction
Heather Heyer
White-on-White
Ran over by a male in a car for protesting at a white supremacy rally
Federal Conviction
After gaining insight into the meaning of those pieces of text, it's apparent to me that Jah is making a point that, out of all the names and crimes stated, the only conviction was to the man who murdered a white female, Heather Heyer. I believe this was pointed out as a subtle protest to the dominant ideology that X finds to be true, a great example of "smoothing over"(Thwaites, Davis, & Mules, 2002, p.159) in his world. The imagery displayed in the video directly relates to the list of names, so much so that the visuals become icons to the text. It is relating them to each other and giving you (the viewer) insight into the crimes without specifically talking about them.
The third and, in my opinion, most important message in this whole video is, what will happen to our future generations if this issue is not resolved? This is portrayed in a very extreme and controversial way, and at this point all the music has cut out, there is only static noise in the background and not one word is said. Which in itself has a signified meaning that no one has anything to say, there is no protest, there is no violence, this is normal.
Okay, let's quickly just point out the obvious denotations in this scene:
Two children, one white and one black standing in front of a piece of rope in the figure of a noose.
An adolescent black male approaches them and places noose around the white boy's neck
Adolescent black male proceeds to hang white boy in front of a silent crowd of onlookers
XXXTentacion was the creative director for this film clip and once again displaying his creative genius outside of music. Throughout the video, the placement of these two children being accompanied by an unidentified black male, simply as innocent by standers to all the crime, paints a connotative picture of what the youth is being exposed to in today's society.
With a signifier (Ferdinand) like a white boy hanging by the neck, a black male pulling on the rope and a crowd of people silently watching. What could the signified (Ferdinand) meaning be behind it?
Did the white boy choose to hang himself?
Was the older male teaching the young black boy that what he was doing was right?
Was that white boy being held to account for the crimes of his ancestors?
I believe that it is up for interpretation, and that's a genius of it. We do not know what will happen to the youth of today in the future generations, but no matter what the outcome is, it won't be good if we continue this hate. Speaking on the hate crimes list that I previously stated, X talks about how none of those crimes stayed in the light of the media or community for long, but were all documented.
" Now these things never come to or remotely remain in the public eye. And the youth is never inspired to take a stand to make a difference. So I will speak for them. The youth, that is, the ones full of innocence. The ones inspired by the things around them, to matter.
I can go on forever about the fact that murder is murder whether you're black or white. You should always feel free to voice your opinion, but to act out on these irrational thoughts in every shape or form is disgusting. "
- XXXTentacion
To recap, Jahseh Onfroy or XXXTentacion had a message he wanted to deliver to the world using his superstar status as a platform. This message was that the youth of today needs to be shown a different world to what they are used to, or else this cycle of hate and oppression will continue to remain through generations. It all starts with today's dissenting voices (Thwaites, Davis, & Mules, 2002, p. 159) , to not fight violence with violence but rather build their voice and show that peace is what is needed to move forward as a community and species. I understand that people from diverse backgrounds with different socially acquired skills will interpret the same text differently. This is my interpretation of what I noticed in this video, I don't know what it is like to live as an African-American or any coloured persons of America, to be precise. But I stand for their voice, just as Heather Heyer did. With myself being in my early 20's, I hope to aid in making a change for the youth of my community and for equality and peace throughout the world.
"Demonstrate care for the youth's future, white or black, black or white. Are you willing to risk your child's future due to your own bigotry? The choice is yours, but your child will not stand for the hate. This generation will be loved, nurtured, heard and understood."
- XXXTentacion
Jordan Bayne.
References:
XXXTENTACION - Look At Me [Official Music Video]. (2019). YouTube. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY5nS720iMU
XXXTENTACION. (2019). XXXTENTACION. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.xxxtentacion.com/
A General Course in Linguistics (1916) by Ferdinand de Saussure
Introducing Cultural and Media Studies: A Semiotic Approach (06 September 2002) by Tony Thwaites, Lloyd Davis, Warwick Mules
Emmett Till is murdered. (2019). HISTORY. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till
NPR Choice page. (2019). Npr.org. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/16/532783821/minnesota-police-officer-found-not-guilty-in-shooting-death-of-philando-castile
Rodney King trial verdict announced. (2019). HISTORY. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rodney-king-trial-verdict-announced
Los Angeles Riots. (2019). HISTORY. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/the-los-angeles-riots
White Supremacist Who Ran Over Heather Heyer Charged With Federal Hate Crimes. (2019). Complex. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.complex.com/life/2018/06/white-supremacist-who-ran-over-heather-heyer-charged-with-federal-hate-crimes
Michael Brown Jr. (1996–2014) • BlackPast. (2016). BlackPast. Retrieved 14 March 2019, from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/brown-jr-michael-1996-2014/
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